PTI protesters cross Islamabad Toll Plaza; Naqvi vows to not spare those behind cop’s death

PTI protesters crossed Islamabad Toll Plaza on Monday on their way towards the federal capital as the government vowed to not spare those behind a cop’s death.

The protest, which the government is determined to foil with force, was originally scheduled to be staged on November 24, but the convoys took a breather last night after PTI leaders said they were in “no hurry” to reach the federal capital for their ‘do or die’ protest, as workers and supporters from across the country attempted to defy arrests, baton charges and tear gas to participate in the agitation.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) last week ruled that PTI’s planned protest was unlawful and directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in Islamabad without disrupting public life, particularly with the Belarusian president’s arrival today in the capital for a three-day official visit.

The PTI protesters, coming mainly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were still quite away from Islamabad until late Sunday night. The party and police officials expect the caravan of supporters from KP to enter the federal capital by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Amid the movement of PTI convoys throughout today, the Punjab government and police announced that a constable was killed at the hands of “miscreants” at Hakla interchange.

A Dawn.com correspondent present with the PTI convoy being led by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said it crossed the Islamabad Toll Plaza.

The PTI also shared visuals of vehicles at the scene.

Sharing footage from the site, it said CM Gandapur’s convoy had entered Islamabad.

KP Law Minister Aftab Alam said the convoy had crossed Chungi No 26 and the next stop was D-Chowk.

PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai earlier told Dawn.com that the convoy entered Islamabad’s limits from Sangjani toll plaza. The PTI also shared footage of the KP convoy in Islamabad’s limits.

PTI leader Muhammad Basharat Raja said that multiple convoys were entering Islamabad.

PTI founder Imran Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi said in a video message released today that people were reaching Islamabad and called on those who had not come out to reach the capital.

She demanded Imran’s release earlier. “My brothers, as long as Imran is not with us, we will not end this march,” she said while addressing supporters at a stop near the Hazara Interchange. “I will stay there till my last breath, and all of you have to support me. This is not just about my husband but about the country and its leader.”

Bushra Bibi is a part of the convoy being led by CM Gandapur.

The PTI said the morale of its protesters was high. “Those who considered Islamabad as their fiefdom and closed it for Pakistani citizens, they should now take notice!” it warned.

Earlier this morning, an update shared by the party prior to the resumption of the march said that Gandapur was ready to lead his convoy.

PTI leader Sanam Javaid Khan shared an update on her convoy’s location in a post on X at 1:33pm, saying they had reached Hassanabdal.

According to her post, Bushra Bibi, Gandapur, Babar Saleem Swati, Faisal Javed and Omar Ayub Khan were present in the convoy, among other party leaders.

Separately, Yousafzai, while speaking to Dawn.com from Burhan Interchange in Attock, earlier said that the convoys had departed for Islamabad but were moving slowly due to their size as well as the presence of barriers. He claimed that the police had retreated after seeing the “huge rally”.

Yousufzai reiterated that KP CM Gandapur intended to reach D-Chowk “peacefully but at any cost”, and that the rally was on the motorway near Burhan, Attock.

The PTI leader said that the processions from Shangla, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi have converged on the main motorway near Burhan Interchange, adding that party workers came under shelling by the police.

He said that the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway procession was being led by CM Gandapur, Bushra Bibi, provincial ministers and other party leaders, whereas Hazara motorway processions were being led by Omar Ayub Khan, himself, Ali Asghar Khan and Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.

Yousufzai said that the party would only stop their rally once “innocent political prisoners”, including Imran, were released.

He said the government was incompetent and that their vision was merely to “baton-charge the public and block the roads”.

“The government has only one goal: crush PTI. They are not political people,” he said. “We are slowly moving towards our destination. God willingly, the truth shall win,” he said.

A post on X from PTI Islamabad showed Barrister Gohar responding to a question, saying: “This is Khan sahib’s final call, there is no such thing of calling this off.”

Meanwhile, a Dawn.com correspondent said that all roads leading towards the red zone in the capital — except for Margalla Road — were blocked.

In Punjab and Islamabad, PTI leaders failed to mobilise the workers effectively as the police swiftly thwarted their attempts to hold gatherings.

Security personnel used batons and tear gas before rounding up scores of people in several cities.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser told Dawn that caravans of protesters marching towards Islamabad “from across the country” would still take a few days to reach the federal capital.

“The rally coming from Peshawar to Islamabad is spread over 14 kilometres,” he claimed, adding that similar numbers would be arriving from D.I. Khan, Abbottabad, Balochistan and other areas.

Although rallies have entered Punjab, “we have instructed our workers that we are not in a hurry to reach Islamabad,” Qaiser told Dawn.

“[O]ur destination is Islamabad but we can take a day or two to reach there and let the government machinery remain panicked.”

Police officials, while citing intelligence reports, said PTI’s caravan coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was likely to stay in or near Swabi on Sunday and continue its march on Monday, reaching Attock on the Punjab-KP border by the day’s end. They are then likely to move towards Islamabad on Tuesday, sources claimed.

According to journalists, the caravan from KP had halted at Ghazi Barotha, short of Attock, on Sunday night. However, many groups of PTI activists defied police expectations and entered Punjab via different highways late on Sunday.

Groups from various parts of KP, such as the Peshawar and Malakand regions, entered Punjab from various thoroughfares after circumventing roadblocks on major arteries.

Another group of protesters from southern KP was en route via the Hakla-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, while the procession from the Hazara region used the Hazara Expressway to enter Punjab.

In a brief speech near the Swabi Interchange, CM Gandapur urged the workers to “utilise all their energy” to remove hurdles on their way towards their destination — D-Chowk in Islamabad.

The main procession was also joined by protesters from Dera Ismail Khan, led by Gandapur’s brother Umar Amin; Balochistan, led by Salar Khan Kakar; Tank; and South Waziristan.

The protesters had their first face-off with Punjab police near Attock. As police fired tear gas, they pelted stones and set fire to a toll booth and a van.

The skirmishes continued till the filing of this report, in the early hours of Monday.

KP CM’s Special Assistant on Communication and Works Mohammad Sohail Afridi, while speaking to Dawn.com, said that police had initially only blocked the roads by placing containers, but have since been “hiding inside bushes and pelting stones on vehicles”.

Govt says cop killed at Hakla interchange

In a post on X earlier today, the Punjab police said that Muzaffargarh Police Constable Muhammad Mubashir Bilal succumbed to his injuries caused by “violence of miscreants” while carrying out his duties to maintain law and order at the Hakla interchange.

It said that Punjab police chief Dr Usman Anwar paid tribute to Constable Bilal, adding that his family’s welfare would be looked after.

“Punjab police will ensure compliance with the Country’s constitution and law at all costs,” he said.

It also posted visuals of another injured constable of the Sargodha police in Attock due to “firing by miscreants”. It added that he was moved to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Hasan Abdal for treatment.

The cop’s funeral prayers were later offered at Rawalpindi. Addressing a press conference after the funeral prayers, Naqvi said: “This is not the first time that our personnel are being martyred. Last time too when they waged a similar assault, our personnel were martyred and today we have to attend those funerals again.

“We have clearly conveyed to all IGs and the Islamabad and Punjab police that those who gave this call [for protest], those who called the protesters, they will all be responsible for this [death] and we will not spare anyone. There will be cases registered against all of them.”

Speaking after him, Dr Anwar said 119 personnel of the Punjab police were injured, four with firearm injuries and many with critical head injuries. He said over 22 police vehicles were damaged and over 22,000 Punjab police personnel were still stationed to deal with the protest.

The interior minister said it would have been very easy to respond in kind but the Punjab police responded to live firing with rubber bullets to mitigate damage on the other side. “However, those who are irresponsible will definitely be punished,” he said, adding that two personnel of the Islamabad police were in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the death and ordered that the culprits be identified and given exemplary punishments.

He also ordered that police personnel injured during clashes with protesters be given the best medical treatment. “Attacking police officials in the name of a peaceful protest is condemnable,” the prime minister said.

“Police officers and law enforcement officials are on duty to maintain peace and order. Those who started nationwide riots on May 9 are once again doing violent actions.”

Naqvi also paid tribute to the constable and expressed his condolences to the deceased’s family.

“Constable Mubasher attained the high status of martyrdom while performing his duty,” Naqvi said in a post on X shared by the interior ministry. He added that the protesters who resorted to violence will be brought to justice.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari announced the death during a press conference in Lahore. She said that PTI workers had killed one policeman while injuring multiple others in clashes between the two earlier today.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, she said, “Constable Mubashir has died … and five police officers are critically injured.”

She also said the police and a Frontier Constabulary official were shot at in Attock, Sargodha, Kati Pahari and Wah Cantt. She added that Mubashir was killed in clashes at Wah Cantt.

Addressing the courts, she said that they “cannot see no matter what these PTI terrorists do and I urge them not to facilitate and give bail to them”.

While speaking to the media in an earlier separate Lahore press conference, she said that around 80 people had died in Kurram over the last four days, however, the KP CM wanted to “attack the capital” for the release of his party leader.

She said that around 80 people were arrested during the protest across Punjab including Lahore on Sunday.

“In this ‘final call’ […] I don’t think there will be a bigger disappointment than this,” she said.

Responding to her press conference about the policeman’s death, PTI Central Information Secretary Waqas Akram termed it a lie and said PTI protesters were moving forward towards Islamabad peacefully in a disciplined manner.

“The responsibility for any loss of life caused by the police personnel or the public will fall on the mandate thieves and their patrons,” he said.

Section 144 extended in Punjab as govt fully prepared to foil ‘onslaught’

Meanwhile, the Punjab government extended the imposition of Section 144 across the province for three more days till Thursday. The provincial government had originally imposed it from Saturday to Monday (today).

A notification from the Punjab Home Department said it was being extended due to the “law and order situation” in the province.

Separately, the police were deployed to stand guard at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

As PTI supporters from KP, Punjab and other parts of the country marched towards the capital, the government struck an aggressive note, saying that anyone trying to enter the city despite the unprecedented security arrangements and blockades in place would face the music.

Government functionaries have termed the PTI power show a ‘well-thought out conspiracy’, as it coincides with yet another foreign dignitary’s visit; the arrival of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian president is due in Islamabad today.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who received an advance delegation from Belarus on Sunday, vowed that all protesters trying to enter the federal capital will be taken into custody.

Authorities have sealed off Islamabad’s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings, and secured the Diplomatic Enclave, he said.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Naqvi said that the security measures were put in place to protect residents of the capital and their property, blaming the PTI for inconveniencing thousands of people.

He said that the situation for the protest was much better than last time, adding that mobile services were working in the capital and only the internet was inaccessible.

According to Downdetector, an internet outage tracking website, several websites reported outages early today.

The tracking website received 52 reports on the outage of WhatsApp while 102 reports were received for Instagram.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also questioned the PTI’s repeated calls for strikes, terming them a “well-thought out conspiracy” against the country.

In a statement on Sunday, he regretted the party always seemed to call for a protest at a time when global figures were visiting Pakistan, whether it be the Chinese premier’s visit, the SCO summit or other occasions.

PTI brings ‘industrial fans’ to fight off tear gas

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of PTI has brought huge industrial fans — similar to those used in paramotoring — besides employing other gadgets to protect the participants from the effects of teargas shelling.

The large fans, transported on a truck, are being probably used for the first time in a political march in Pakistan.

The PTI’s social media head in KP, Ikram Khattana, while talking to Dawn said the fans had been locally manufactured for their planned protest march towards Islamabad.

“There are six such fans which are part of the convoy taken out from Peshawar,” Khattana said, adding that electricity generators had been arranged to operate these fans.